The best interviewer at ABC is not Charlie Gibson. It's not George Stephanopoulos. It's the women of The View. In a few short minutes, they called John McCain to the carpet, and they forced him to reveal his true nature: dishonest (earmarks) and thin-skinned (look at his face when Joy Behar tells him that his ads about Obama are filled with lies).
There are no other mainstream reporters willing to ask tough questions. Campbell Brown on CNN did a good interview with a McCain spokesflack, and the McCain mouthpiece could not answer Campbell Brown's questions about Sarah Palin with any honesty. He stalled, stumbled, and stammered. It was an astonishing embarrassment. The end result? The McCain camp boycotted CNN. CNN should wear that boycott on its sleeve.
Sarah Palin's answers to Charlie Gibson were so frightening and robotic -- she seemed more like a Sarah Palin robot than a real person -- that she's going to follow-up that talk with a Q & A with...Sean Hannity! Wow, that ought to be a tough interview. Sean Hannity's interview with Sarah Palin should have all the depth of a sideline reporter's halftime interview at an NFL game. I'm expecting tough questions, like, "How does it feel to have the media attack you?", "Did you ever expect such unfairness?", and "Why do you love your country so much?"
This is all part of the attempt to hide Palin. And you know what? That's fine -- if the Republicans can hide her, and the media does not call her out, and the public is not outraged, then it's the public that has itself to blame.
But enough about Palin. We should all stop talking about her. Talking about Palin only fits into the McCain's camps hopes that we talk about anything other than the issues. And this election is not about her, her lack of credentials, or the fact that she is singularly unprepared for the job of President.
This election is about John McCain. And the Obama campaign should reflect that by only talking about this (and if they stick to these points, they will win):
1.) 91% -- McCain's record of voting with George W. Now, the public does not seem to believe that McCain is Bush III. However, what the public should know is that McCain is more likely to take us to war again. I'd play the "Bomb Iran" song over and over again. I'd show McCain on Letterman talking about Saddam Hussein likely being responsible for the anthrax scare. I'd show McCain talking about the fact that we'd need only 100,000 troops in Iraq. McCain's not Bush -- he's more of a war monger.
2.) Lobbyists -- I'd show McCain going onto the boat of Raffaello Follieri (boyfriend of Anne Hathaway), and show headlines of McCain's ties to lobbyists.
3.) The Economy -- Over and over, I'd show McCain saying that he doesn't know much about the economy, but he's going to read Alan Greenspan's book.
Hammer these three points home. Lobbyists; war; the economy. Hit them every day.
4.) Smile, Senator Obama. Often. And remember, you are the new way of politics, he is the change. Let others attack. Let the commercials attack. Barack Obama? He is the guy who doesn't go into the dirt. He's the man who can bring people together. A new way of politics. In that way, Obama is the message and the messenger. Remember that. Remember how great it is that a year and a half ago you were a massive underdog and today you may be President of the United States. You were raised by a single mother who was on food stamps. Is this a great country or what? Only in America. Big smile.
That's how you win.